6 January 2021

The Academy celebrated the Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is the last day before the Nativity of Christ. On this day, clergymen attire in white and the church is filled with hymns to the Newborn.

“The Virgin is about to give birth to the inexpressible Word in a cave. Rejoice the universe, hearing about this, cheer with angels and shepherds to greet One who wants to appear - the Young Child, the Eternal God. "

On January 5, Hegumen Meletius (Sokolov) officed Vespers and Matins. The Bishop of Zvenigorod Theodorite read a canon of the 6th tone "By the Wave of the Sea".

“Child born to us, Son given to us; dominion on His shoulders, and they will call His name: Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace. There is no limit to the multiplication of His dominion and there is peace on the throne of David and in his kingdom to establish it and strengthen it with judgment and righteousness from now on and forever. The zeal of the Lord will do it. "

On January 6, at the morning service, the clergy of the Intercession Academic Church officed the Royal Hours. This sequence consists of the 1st, 3rd, 6th and 9th hours with special psalms, troparions and paremias, reading of the Gospel and the Apostle. During the service, eight passages from the Old Testament told about the creation of the world, the life of righteous people and prophecies about the birth of Messiah, the Savior of the world.

Bishop Theodorite ordained a reader Vadim Sergiev, a student of the propaedeutic Master's course of the Moscow Theological Academy, into a subdeacon. After the end of the Royal Hours, Bishop Theodorite performed Christmas Vespers and the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great.

По окончании Царских часов и изобразительных епископ Феодорит совершил вечерню праздника Рождества Христова в соединении с Божественной литургией святителя Василия Великого.

Сегодня за богослужением молящиеся слышали 8 чтений из Ветхого Завета, которые рассказывали о сотворении мира, о жизни богоизбранного народа и о пророчествах рождения Мессии, Который станет Спасителем всего мира.

After the Gospel reading, the Rector addressed an assembly with his archpastoral word.

After the Eucharistic Canon, Bishop Theodorite ordained Subdeacon Vadim Sergiev into a deacon.

Hieromonk Thaddeus (Pryadun) gave a sermon, in which he explained why the only Christ is able to transform a person and wipe out his original sin:

“A hereditary sin is overcome by a moral life, an original sin is overcome only by Christ’s blood. He is the One and His coming marked for a humankind the moment of adoption by God, the path of man's return to the Creator. Christ is the joy of an abandoned child acquiring new parents. Christ is deliverance from grief, hopelessness and death. Christ is the One who blots out both an original and a hereditary sin in life. He is the One who gave us absolute freedom. That is why the Angels rejoiced so much, calling out: "Glory to God in the highest, peace on the earth and good will in men!"